Minimum wages will be set per daily shift starting January 2027

The National Wages Council agreed that, as of January 1, 2027, all minimum wages in the Costa Rican private sector shall be expressed in terms of a daily workday, and completely rewrote Article 7 of the Minimum Wage Decree to establish how weekly, biweekly, and monthly amounts are calculated. The decision was finalized in resolution RG-MTSS-CNS-1-2026, published in La Gaceta No. 203 on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, pages 4 and 5, with the official reference IN202601135024.

The agreement was adopted in ordinary session No. 5910 on October 12, 2026, and is signed by the head of the body, Kattia Benavides Morales. The Council acts with the support of Law No. 832 of November 4, 1949, and its regulations, and declares itself competent, with constitutional rank, in everything related to the setting of minimum wages for the private sector.

The immediate precedent is the Minimum Wage Decree No. 45.303-MTSS, published in La Gaceta No. 229, Scope No. 156, on December 5, 2025, and in effect since January 1, 2026. That decree maintains two parallel articles—1-A, with minimum wages per ordinary daily workday, and 1-B, with minimum wages per month—with the same occupational categories and equivalent amounts, but expressed in different units of time, which, according to the resolution, “generates confusion in the application of labor rights regarding wages.” The Council had already closed part of that gap with resolution CNS-RG-6-2020, published in La Gaceta No. 3 on January 6, 2021.

What changes from January 1, 2027

• All minimum wages will be expressed as a daily workday; those currently set monthly must be converted to their daily equivalent.
• Piece-rate wages are excepted: coffee baskets (cajuela de café) and various stevedoring modalities.
• The change does not alter the payment periodicity previously agreed upon between the parties nor does it affect current labor rights.
• The Technical Secretariat of the National Wages Council is instructed to perform the corresponding calculations and prepare the new wording of Article 7.
• The resolution clarifies that the measure cannot be interpreted as the elimination or substitution of the monthly or biweekly salary as a payment modality, nor as a reduction of acquired rights.

The new formula of Article 7

The substitute text of Article 7, titled “Calculation of the minimum wage according to payment periodicity,” is based on Article 152 of the Labor Code, according to which only in commercial activities does the salary include payment for the day of rest. To determine the weekly minimum wage, the Council established two rules:

• In commercial activities, the minimum daily wage is multiplied by 7 days for a full work week.
• In non-commercial activities, it is multiplied by the number of days actually worked during the week.

Additionally, if the employer voluntarily agrees to pay on a monthly or biweekly basis, all days must be remunerated at a rate of 30 days per month: the minimum daily wage is multiplied by 30 to obtain the monthly rate, or by 15 for the biweekly rate.

Port stevedoring and support from MTSS directorates

The resolution also adjusts the reference to port stevedoring modalities and incorporates a clarifying note: for the calculation of the minimum stevedoring wage, the total loading and unloading must be divided among the workers who made up the crew that performed the work.

The agreement had the favorable opinion of several departments of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security:

• The Directorate of Legal Affairs, represented by Ashley Román Conejo and Fernando Vega Montero, maintained that the daily rate offers greater certainty in calculations and supported improving the wording of Article 7.
• The National Directorate of Labor Inspection, through official letter CARTA-MTSS-DMT-DVAL-DNI-766-2026 dated October 9, 2026, considered it pertinent to simplify the category structure using the daily rate as the primary unit.
• The Directorate of Labor Affairs, with official letter CARTA-MTSS-DMT-DVAL-DAL-235-2026 dated October 12, 2026, endorsed the daily fixing to facilitate understanding for workers, employers, and Ministry departments.

The file also includes study ES-MTSS-CNS-DSM-1-2026 from September 2026, regarding the completion of closing the wage gap between categories of the same name in Articles 1-A and 1-B, and ordinary sessions No. 5905 of September 7 and No. 5908 of September 28, 2026, which opened the social dialogue to modify the decree.

Validity and appeal

A motion for reconsideration may be filed against the resolution before the National Wage Council itself within three business days following the communication of the agreement, in accordance with Article 25 of the body’s regulations, contained in Executive Decree No. 25,619-MTSS of November 1996. The new fixing takes effect as of January 1, 2027.

The relevance for workers and employers is direct: the daily rate becomes the reference unit for all minimum wages in the private sector and, consequently, the basis for calculating weekly, biweekly, and monthly remunerations, which will necessitate a review of payrolls and contracts that currently operate with amounts expressed per month.

Source: La Gaceta, No. 203, Tuesday, October 27, 2026, Labor and Social Security section, pp. 4-5 (official reference: RG-MTSS-CNS-1-2026 / IN202601135024).